The latest issue of Maverick magazine, which is arriving on newsstands this week, includes an article I wrote comparing diesel generators with solar photovoltaic panels. The point is that solar cells are normally considered pricey, with little hope of paying for themselves in the near term and maybe not even in the long run. Load shedding changed all that, however, because many South Africans are now shelling out tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars for diesel generators to make themselves Eskom-proof. In my article I compare what happens if that money is instead put into generating solar electricity on the roof. I use actual quotes for systems for one house and then run the numbers to see how the two options compare over time.

When this issue of Maverick comes off the newsstand, I will post the article in-full on GreenerHouse. In the meantime, I will share a few insights from my reporting here in the next few days.